Starting Solids - Penfield, NY

The first solids you are giving are for teaching him to enjoy new textures and flavors, not for nutrition. He would be fine on only breastmilk, so don't fret about the quantity that he eats of other foods. Also, don't feed him when he is too hungry. When he stops liking what you are feeding him, don't force him. If he is not ready to "eat" yet, just nurse him. He will be fine, and when he is ready he will want what the family is eating. Do you sit him at the table with you & your husband when you eat? If he is not showing interest, he is not ready for solids. Breastfeeding him is the best thing you can do for him (and you) for now and the future, so be proud of yourself and don't doubt that it is really all he needs for nutrition for the first year.
Another thought, are you giving him yucky commercial baby food? I wouldn't eat that either! Try mashing up well cooked veggies that you make. He might like that better.
Relax and enjoy Little T's babyhood, it goes so fast!
About me. I am an RN, and a CNM with 3 biological kids, and 4 godchildren that I raised. Ages from 6-17. So I've been there a few times.
L.

Hi T.,
Since I decided to breastfeed, I have looked and listened and learned that EVERYONE has a different version of what is normal and acceptable. Please listen to yourself and your baby first.

My son has a hard time with new foods. I follow the suggestion to nurse him first, then feed him.

Are you introducing them 1 new food at a time, 3 days each?

If you are nursing, he isn't starving. Nursing him will not hurt him - it will give him nourishment.

Are you giving him fruits also?

I started losing my milk because my son wasn't nursing enough - I cut back on solids and increased his nursing time during the day. He was 'full', so he just wasn't 'asking' me for it.

We have a much better situation now; he nurses, then eats, then nurses again. He usually eats 2T cereal at each meal (but at 8 months, he was at 1T) mixed with breast milk. I give him an ounce of veggie, ounce of fruit, and if he is still looking for something, another ounce of either (or now, Cheerios are an option).

I don't see the need to differentiate at such a young age the difference between eating and nursing. To him, they are one and the same - different sources for different foods.

Also, I didn't push solids until he was willing to eat them without screaming. So while we introduced him to rice at 6.5 months - he wasn't ready. (Poor guy tried to back up from his lips!) We tried again at 7 months, then 7.5 he started accepting the cereals. We moved up a little at a time. He is the one who knows what his tummy is ready for! The taste buds will follow.

Friends told me I am shorting him - but he is happy, and he is not losing weight. (he's not gaining either, but the ped'n for the first time in his year on earth is not worried about it, because he is MUCH more mobile now!) Friends also tell me that I am going to short him on his birthday by NOT giving him cake. I don't believe so. He will have plenty of birthdays with sweets and cake and ice cream - he doesn't need them now.

As far as a cup, I haven't found a BPA-free sippy, so I have been teaching him to drink from my glass. He is much more receptive to this than the sippy we had (he'd chew it and empty it), and cups he can hold aren't ones I want him to have (he loves to chew stuff now that he is teething, so plastic really is out for him.)

Go with what your baby is leaning towards. He isn't telling you to stop solids. He's just telling you he wants to nurse. That is normal and okay.

Good luck!
M.

Breastmilk should be the SOLE nutrition for the first year of life. Solids are complimentary and are only used to taste and experiment with. They arent supposed to be used in place of a nursing for nutrition. Have you tried home making baby food? The jarred stuff is pretty awful. Try baking some squash or sweet potatoes and feeding him these. Or try steaming some carrots and green beans. Peas can be given as is, and he'll have a ball trying to pick them up as they roll around. Try letting him self-feed. They usually show more interest when they have control over what goes in their mouth, when, and how much of it. Breastfed babies especially because this is how they eat normally...in their own time and control. So good luck, hope these tips are useful!

My daughter is also 6 months and just started solids two weeks ago. We started with sweet potatoes instead of rice cereal, and she's had avocado. I've been making her food myself - with nothing added; babies don't know what things taste "good" or "bad", so at this stage, nothing should be added to babies food - just breastmilk (or formula) to water it down to a softer consistency. I agree with one of the other posts that if he gets really fussy, just stop the feeding session. You should, however, introduce the same food several times (I remember reading somewhere that it should be 8 times before giving it up).

I feed her her solids before nursing (or giving her breastmilk in a bottle), because she always wants her milk.

At this point, their main nutrition should be in their milk, not solids - we're just teaching them to eat at this point.
Also, there's no rule that little T needs to be eating solids now anyway, for the first year, let your breastmilk be the mainstay of his diet. When he is more interested in food, he'll eat.

I waited until my LO was 6 months because I didn't feel there was any need to rush it - they are going to be eating for the rest of their lives anyway...plus, goodbye BF poops, hello real ones! We're in the same place with our kiddies, so if you want to "chat" email me.

Hi T.,

Here are some websites that I use when I began feeding my daughter solids (purees).

http://www.babycenter.com/0_age-by-age-guide-to-feeding-y...

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/early-solid-food-feeding...

Overall, I breastfeed her first, than introduce a vegetable during lunchtime and then vegetable and dessert during dinner.

Since she's teething, I let her nurse afterwards if she wants.

When she gets fussy and starts crying, I stop feeding her. Sometimes she will play with her spoon. Other times she just wants to pause and will resume the feeding later. If she doesn't stop crying, then I will stop feeding her and remove her from the table. I notice that if I keep feeding her the same thing for each meal for three days, by the third day she's so cranky with the food, so when I introduce some new type of food, she's more eager to eat.

Good luck!

I breastfed my youngest exclusively and she never had a bottle and went right to a cup. I also had twind which were 2 and a half years older than her. SO She sat on my lap and breast fed during meals. By the timeshe was 6 months old she would sit on my lap at meal times and then started picking food off my plate on her own. It was quite a surprise the first time. Minestrone soup was a favorite. I think it was because there are so many different vegetables in it with the little circle pasta. Perhaps you could try that. I am sure she willbe fine

When he starts fussing, the feeding session is over. Don't force him to eat anything or he will not learn how to listen to his body and learn when he is full. Take it slow. At this age, solids are like dessert and should only be given once a day and gradually moved up to twice a day at 7 or 8 months. They should not replace any feedings. Get the book super baby food by Ruth Yaron

Dont worry mama, its perfectly normal. As long as you are still breastfeeding, he is basically getting what he needs nutritionally. At six months it is more about introducing new tastes and textures. its also possible that his reaction to the veggies has something to do with how it is making him feel, gassy maybe?
are you mixing in a bit of breastmilk with the food? This an often help them adjust to solids in the begining.
It changes constantly, I have a 16 month old who is now rejecting most purees and also some solids that he used to love, he has gotten really fussy lately and will only eat about four things , but I know this too shall pass. Just keep gently introducing new tastes and it will click eventually.

My daughter does the same thing. I finally figured out that she was thirsty. When she starts fussing, I give her a bottle or cup with breastmilk or formula. She takes a few sips and then pushes it away. Then I go back to the solids and she eats just fine. Don't we all like a drink to go with our meal??

With my kids when I started them on vegies, I would put alittle bit of butter on them or some light seasoning, Cuz some of the baby food tastes yucky so I would try to give it some flavor, It seemed to work and as for breastfeeding, It just might be a little bit of he is afraid he isnt going to spend that time with you during the day

Hi T.,

Don't stress over the solids. In the first year, the baby's milk is their primary source of nutrition. The veggies are not supposed to take the place of his nursing and won't give him anything nutritionally that his milk doesn't give him. What's typically recommended is to nurse the baby and then top them off with the food, and he doesn't need to eat big quantities of solids. If he doesn't eat them, he isn't missing anything nutritionally, your milk can give him everything he needs during the first year.
I also feel that introducing new foods, introducing a cup, all at the same time is too much for such a young baby to deal with. At this point, food is about tasting and experimenting. At a year is when you typically structure meals and give drinks in a cup and cut down on the non-meal nursing or bottles.
Good luck !